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If the GOP wins the Senate, it is NOT a referendum on President Obama

So, what's the reason for the GOP likely winning control of the Senate tonight? If you ask ten conservatives, at least nine will likely tell you, "It's a referendum on President Obama and his policies."

I'm sorry, but that's ridiculous. President Obama's approval numbers aren't great, but they are a heck of a lot better than that of Congress. In the the three most recent such polls, Obama's approval rating is at 42.7% and his disapproval is at 53.0% (net -10.3%). As far as Congress goes, the four most recent polls have its approval at 12.0% and their disapproval at 78.5% (net -66.5%). So, President Obama's approval is 3.56 times that of Congress and Congress' disapproval is at 1.48 times that of the president.

The fact of the matter is the American people can't stand Congress and want to vote incumbents out. Due to Republican gerrymandering, however, they will continue to control the House. On the other hand, the Senate will likely switch parties from Democrat to Republican.

Not only that, but this change in party control is a trend historically during mid-terms of a president's second term.

Pretty much from day 1 of President Obama's first term, it's been the Republican Party's goal to either make him a one-term president or to make him a lame-duck president in his second term. It's been their goal to minimize his effectiveness to try and win control of the House, the Senate, and the Oval Office. Even if tonight's election results follow that mid-terms-of-a-president's-second-term trend and the GOP takes control of the Senate, it's more due to the country being angry at Congress than at President Obama. It cracks me up to hear Congresspeople or individuals running for Congress talking about the president's low approval ratings. The president's approval is near 43%, compared to 12% for Congress. That'd be like a student saying a fellow student's 80% grade on a test was low when his was 22.5%.

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/?state=nwa

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